1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to structural pillars for automotive vehicles, and ventilation ducting for automotive vehicle passenger compartments.
2. Background Art
The prior art has offered various vehicle pillar structures for supporting the roof of a vehicle. These structures include various structural pillars extending from a ridge line of the vehicle. These structures are enhanced by the quantity of pillars, the strength of the pillars, and various structural additions, such as structural foam within the pillars. Some of the design criteria for these structures include support of the roof during a roof crush scenario, such as a rollover. Such design concerns come into play for vehicles having relatively higher centers of gravity, such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs), trucks, vans, minivans, and crossover vehicles.
Continual efforts have been made to improve the comfort of passengers within an automotive vehicle. Such enhanced comfort features include ventilation to rear seated occupants. Some prior art offerings have included ducting through a center console in the front row with vents facing a rear seating row. Such vents are typically located on a rearside of the center console.
The prior art has also provided other comfort features to automotive vehicle passengers, such as media display screens, foot rests and the like.